Lessons of Launch: Preparing for Liftoff
How many new product and service launches fail each year? At launch, at least 1 in 3, despite diligent research and planning (1).
Successful launches are critical to the success of an organization, so how can you avoid being part of the 33% that never take off?
Disciplined strategic planning and flawless execution are imperative to ensure success. As experienced strategic marketing consultants, we have helped numerous clients across industries successfully launch new products and services into the marketplace.
Our countless experience in this space allows us to “drop in” to an organization and manage complex product launches on tight timelines, a situation I find myself in right now.
I am currently working with a large technology company looking to launch a new service business … in only four months! This tight time frame is not uncommon, but it does bring with it unique challenges that must be anticipated and planned for in advance.
Over the next several months, I will provide updates of how the project is progressing, note any challenges that arise and document all the lessons learned along the way. This inside look into a real project, in real-time, will provide a picture of why some launches succeed and others fail.
This is the first installment outlining my experiences managing this project.
Month 1: Establish Relationships & Set Direction
Identify & Build Relationships with Key Stakeholders
Launching a new initiative requires a collaborative cross-functional team effort, involving a diverse group of talents. As the first order of business in week one, I worked quickly to set up meetings with all key players. During these sessions, I focused on developing rapport, understanding the roles and responsibilities of each team member and confirming their alignment with important initiative details such as scope and timing.
Get Smart Fast: Understand the Marketplace & Gain Alignment on Key Assumptions
With tight timelines, it was important to get up to speed quickly. I read everything they gave me, often twice. Through this work, I generated answers to a number of important questions. What is the market opportunity? How big is the category and how much is it expected to grow? What are the key underlying customer dynamics driving this growth? Who are the prioritized segments? Which competitors are winning and how are they positioned? In doing so, I had a particular focus on uncovering potential weaknesses and customer needs that are not currently being addressed. Along the way, making sure key stakeholders understand and are aligned with critical facts and assumptions.
Frame Fact-Based Strategic Options & Validate Direction
With answers to key marketplace questions in hand, I quickly worked to develop strategic hypotheses for how my client can win in the marketplace, laying out value proposition options (positioning, packaging and pricing) and determining the financial implications of each option. I collaborated with internal market research to identify research vendors and methodologies to validate the strategic direction.
Develop a Robust Timeline
With a research timeline in place to validate strategic direction, I worked with other marketing functions, such as Marketing Communications and Marketing Operations, to develop a master launch timeline.
Keep Communication Lines Open
As a large organization with team members across functions internally and externally, communication is paramount to success. I set up weekly cross-functional team meetings to actively manage the timeline and move the project forward. No major issues yet, although there always are, and I will quickly and proactively address any that arise. It will be important to maintain alignment across the team and throughout the organization to meet our aggressive timelines!
It has been a busy first month and it’s not about to let up. If anything, it will become more intense. With key relationships established and a clear direction set, I’m gearing up for month two where the focus will be validating our proposition through market research and developing the detailed go-to-market plan.
If you take away one thing from my experience during the first month of this project, it’s this:
develop fact-based strategic options and ensure alignment up front! Make sure all key stakeholders are on the same page. Failure to address key questions or concerns, especially among senior leaders, adds significant risk to your timeline and the overall launch.
I’ll continue to share my experiences, but I also want to hear yours. What have you experienced with new product and service launches? Anything you would never do again? Or anything you learned along the way that you wish you had learned earlier? What are your launch success stories or go-to-market nightmares?
(1) Source: Winning at New Products, p.9
